Spiffy:

Iffy:

Generic robot enemies look identical to one another; console frame-rates aren't as far along as PC.

Developer Airtight Games includes alumni from Microsoft's Xbox aerial combat game, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. That was a game that featured air pirates, zeppelins, and daring aerial exploits. Dark Void, being developed for Capcom by this new outfit, is a game that also features an aerial motif, zeppelins, and a similar sense of pulp adventure, showing once again that developers often stick to what they know. Don't be misled, however. This is a very different game than Crimson Skies, combining a Gears of War-style cover system and shooting mechanics with a novel approach to vertically oriented level design.

The complete details behind Dark Void are still up in the air, but we were able to get the gist of the game's backstory. The protagonist is a a down-on-his-luck cargo pilot named Will, who in a brilliant stroke of genius decided to take his plane on a shortcut through the Bermuda triangle. He finds that he's transported to an alternate world where robot UFO-piloting villains are everywhere, and his only hope for a return trip to his own world is the scientific expertise of one Dr. Tesla. To outfit him on a quest to fight these robotic villains, Will dons an experimental jetpack, which, along with a variety of guns, turns him into a flying soldier without compare.

What sets Dark Void apart from other shooters is its focus on verticality. The main character's jet pack brings back memories of "The Rocketeer." Initially this device serves as a hover pack, allowing for boosted jumps, but it can be upgraded into a jet pack, resulting in his ability to explore the heights of each level and even take to the skies.

The unique vertical cover system plays a large role in keeping a shooter feel even when exploring uncharted territory in the realm of cover-based gameplay. In our hands-on session with Dark Void, we scaled multiple cliff faces in order to proceed through the level. We used Will's hover pack in order to boost up the wall, ledge by ledge. The camera shifted perspective in these scenes to drop behind Will's shoulder while facing straight up the wall, providing a vantage point that showed where the enemies above were located.

Since only Will's hand is exposed in these sequences, the ledges work as effective cover, which you can pop out from under in order to fire. Blind fire is effective from these positions, and if you boost up to a ledge directly underneath an enemy, you can grab a foot and throw the unfortunate robot into the great recycled motherboard pile in the sky. Hopping from ledge to ledge, taking cover, and grabbing enemies is all handled by simply pressing buttons as they appear contextually on-screen.

While much of our gameplay session took place on foot, ducking behind cover and shooting up robots, we did get a chance to base-jump off a ledge and put the rocket pack to good use. After a few seconds of arm-flailing freefall the rockets kicked in and we took off, turning the first-person shooter into an aerial combat game. Will's animation as he's flying is particularly interesting, as he flails about much like someone would when jumping out of a plane without a chute. The character can shoot at enemies using a targeting reticule, but the real fun kicks in when you fly close enough to an enemy aircraft to attempt a hijack.

To hijack a flying saucer, you need to fly close enough to initiate a mini-game. At this point Will is perched on the outer rim and must strafe around the rim of the UFO in order to avoid the gunfire coming from the robot nested in the middle. In between dodges, you can pry off the cover of a control panel and then dispatch the robotic pilot to wrest control of the vehicle. Once you're in control, you can then turn the UFO's powerful weapons on the robot forces to even the odds.

Dark Void takes game mechanics that are very similar to what other shooters have done in years past but keeps things fresh with its unique focus on aerial combat and vertical level design. We were only shown the Xbox 360 version of the game, which suffered from a stuttery frame-rate, but the PC version is apparently running quite smoothly. According to the dev who answered our questions, the console version is also headed in that direction. We look forward to checking this one out again after it's had a few more months to cook.